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- Korean Air’s first Airbus A380 (HL7611).
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- Korean Air’s first Airbus A380 (HL7611).
Click either photo for larger. Both photos from Airbus.
Today, Korean Air becomes the sixth operator of the Airbus A380. The airline has 9 additional on order. The airline plans to operate the A380 from its Seoul hub to select destinations in Asia. Future aircraft will be used to offer non-stop services to North America and Europe.
Korean Air’s Airbus A380 is configured to hold 407 passengers in a three class layout. That is not many seats considering most airlines configure the A380 with over 500 and with an all-economy layout almost 800 could fit.
The aircraft offers a duty free showcase and an on-board lounge and bar for premium passengers.
“Korean Air was the first airline to purchase an Airbus aircraft outside Europe and they have now become an essential part of our fleet,’ said Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air. ’œThe exceptional, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly A380 that is being delivered today is perfect to assist Korean Air in advancing our goal of becoming a respected leading global carrier.’
407 seats in 3 classes, very interesting configuration selection by Korean Air for such a large aircraft. I’m curious as to what type of profit projects they envision with that configuration.
How few seats are they going to have when they get their 747-8?
The entire upper deck of the Korean Air A380 will be dedicated to Business class with 94 seats. That explains the modest passenger configuration numbers. I’m sure they’ll adapt the configuration if they have to scale back their Business class offering.
http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2011/05/american-airlines-boeing-737-800-korean-air-a380/171712/1
Now that is VIP!
Why is that everytime I see a Korean Air plane I think of Pepsi?
I got to say that I never like the A380 looks, but in Lufthansa and now Korean livery it looks great.
Great observation. I’m not at all fond of the way the A380 looks. I like the Air France livery on the A380.
I try not to take issue with the A380 considering that the aircraft is going to be around for a long time. It’s definitely not an attractive aircraft, in my opinion.
I’m like you Mark, I try not to take issue with the A380 because you are right, its going to be here for a long time and also even if I think is ugly, I have to admit its an amazing peace of aeronautical engineering and a huge achievement. It makes you think, can someone construct a bigger one?, we’ll see what the future holds.
I think the engineering to build a bigger plane is there, but then you get into more infrastructural aspects. Runways, gates, turn around time and public opinion.
Oh and I did a little comparison with the livery and Pepsi — too similar in my opinion: https://www.airlinereporter.com/?attachment_id=5202
David